Urgent! Deciding what graphic card to buy tomorrow

[KaiZo]

Build 1:
Core i5 2400
ASUS P8H67 B3
ASUS GTX560 TI Direct CU II
4GB Kingston DDR3 KVR1333 (2GBx2)
WD 1TB/64MB
CM GX 650W
Lite-On® Dvd+RW 24X
THERMALTAKE V4

Build 2:
Same as Build 1 except the graphic card is MSI 550Ti Cyclone II

Build 3:
Same as Build 1 except the graphic card is ASUS GTX560 Direct CU II

I'm struggling right now as I don't know what to choose between 560Ti, 560 or 550Ti. My budget is around 800-850 USD. This rig is mostly for gaming, movie and some programming tasks. I'll be playing in 1900x1080 resolution with highest quality possible. I just need some advices and facts to clear up my mind so I can choose what to buy tomorrow. Thanks a lot.

PS: The listed components above is the only thing that I'll be spending my money on, so I won't be spending money for keyboard, mouse, OS and etc.

 

[mxsix]

The 560 Ti is going to give you the best performance of those 3.

 

[ukee1593]

In Short:

560 Ti is the fastest (and most expensive)

560 is in between the 560 Ti and the 550 Ti

and the 550 Ti is the slowest (and least expensive.

I have the 560 Ti Direct CUII from ASUS myself and I can tell you it is quite fast for gaming on a single monitor @ 1080P resolution.

May I also suggest that you take a look at the Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD as it is cheaper than the WD 1TB AND faster than the WD 1TB. The savings may even take you up to the core i5 2500 which is a little faster. Also the Corsair HX 650 or TX 650 (TX is the non-modular version) would be a better power supply than the Coolermaster.

 

[KaiZo]

Hmm..ok then. If I could buy 2 550Ti and turn it into SLI, will it out-perform 560 ti? And possibly 570/580?

 

[clarkeminusthee]

I would suggest a gtx 560.
even though it is about 100$ more than a 550 if you are using your system for gaming at moderate/high settings in many new games a 550 is going to be a bit disappointing. That and its not very future proof. It'll go out of date quite quickly with the new generation of cards coming in the coming 3-6 months. When i say out of date i mean, wont be able to run at playable frame rates in soon to be released games.
However, the 560 is a good choice for gaming on a budget. Itll last longer in the gaming market. You get what you pay for. In my opinion the extra 100$ or so is worth it, but thats for games i play- rage bf3 crysis 2, all very graphically demanding. obviously games like WOW and starcraft II wont need as much power.
The ti in the gtx 560 ti is a bit of a gimmick. Yeah the titanium is lighter than steel, but who cares about gfx card weight when you have a desktop, but ti is the standard version of the card so unless you find a great deal on one or the other, it doesnt make a lot of difference.
So, id suggest a 560 model ti or not doesnt matter.
However i would also suggest taking a look at the hd 6950. For the same price you could get the same raw performance with twice the memory, which adds to the lifecycle, or futureproof-ness of the card.
If youre a hardcore nvidia fan thats cool, but pick a card that you like and can afford, dont base it on brand unless youre looking at warranties.
Btw check out these links, you may find them useful- http://www.hwcompare.com/9686/geforce-gtx-550-ti-vs-geforce-gtx-560-ti/

http://www.hwcompare.com/8888/geforce-gtx-560-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6950-2gb/

 

[boiler1990]

Why SLI 2x550Tis when you could SLI 560Tis?

 

[Sky03]

Uhmm. The ti does not mean it's made of titanium. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944.html

The gtx 560ti is a stronger card than the gtx560.

 

[KaiZo]

Why SLI 2x550Tis when you could SLI 560Tis?

Because SLI 560Ti is way out of my budget where SLI 550Ti I could add just a bit of cash.

 

[KaiZo]

I found out that GTX 460 is better than GTX 550 Ti. Is that true?

 

[boiler1990]

It seems so, though a 560Ti right off the bat is still a better buy. That way in several months to a year you can just drop in another 560Ti for a performance boost.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/313231-33-edition

 

[KaiZo]

Ok, I decided to choose GTX 560. But then I have 2 options for that. MSI GTX 560 HAWX or ASUS GTX 560 Direct CU II? I heard there's not much difference in performance and MSI one is cheaper.

 

[Sky03]

If you can afford the gtx560ti, i don't understand why you wanna step down to a gtx560. It's not like you're sacrificing other parts to accomodate it.

 

[KaiZo]

Should I get 560 Ti instead? Coz where I live its 670 MYR for 560, where the Ti vers is 800+ MYR.

 

[KaiZo]

Decided to take MSI N560 HAWK and used the extra money on getting Corsair D3 Vengeance 1600 4GB instead of Kingston DDR3 1333 4GB. Can't wait til tomorrow. Thanks for helping.

 

[KaiZo]

Best answer selected by KaiZo.